A Reasonable Paradox
by Maximillian Havisham
Summary: It was nearly impossible to tell what she was thinking, but that didn't stop him from trying from time to time. Modern AU


"Again?"

Corrin sat on the roof perplexed as he stared at the two pieces of paper in front of him. They were the most recent mid-term exams, and once again Setsuna had gotten a better score than him. When he looked over to his girlfriend he saw her eating her lunch with a joyous smile, completely unaware of the dilemma he was facing.

"How does she do it?" he wondered aloud.

"Hm?" Setsuna looked up from her meal. "Did you say something?"

"Nothing important. You've got some rice on your face though." He pointed to the right corner of his own mouth to show here where it was.

"I do? Can you get it for me? My hands are full…"

Corrin sighed, but nonetheless removed the errant grain with a smile on his face.

"There. All clean."

Setsuna smiled. "Thank you…" She then went back to eating.

Most people wondered why Corrin – the Student Council President – was dating Setsuna. She never paid attention in class, was more than a little spacey, and her clumsiness made her a legend in school for all the wrong reasons. In nearly all respects they were complete opposites. Nonetheless when she confessed to Corrin around a month or so ago, he graciously accepted.

Jakob – the ever diligent vice-president, as well as Corrin's self-proclaimed "best friend" – constantly badgered Corrin about his choice of girlfriend.

He would always ask: "Why not date Charlotte? She's the most popular girl in school." or "What about Oboro? Her skills in both cleaning and tailoring would make her an excellent wife."

While Corrin conceded that Jakob made perfectly good arguments for both girls, his answer was always the same.

"I like Setsuna." He would say.

These tests scores were one of the reasons why. According to Hinoka, Setsuna was something of a "lazy genius".

She didn't care in the least for class work, but she always managed to score among the top ranked students in the entire school. It was this odd dichotomy that initially interested Corrin. He thought that he would find out her secret the more time they spent together, but when they would study Setsuna would either suggest they do something else, or fall asleep five minutes into the session.

 _It just doesn't make sense._

"Corrin."

"Hm?"

Corrin finally put down the test papers and saw that Setsuna was holding a sausage to him from the end of her fork.

"Try it." She smiled. "It's really yummy…"

Corrin wrapped his lips around the fork and Setsuna slid it out clean. After a few bites, his eyes lit up.

"It really **is** good!"

"I told you…"

Setsuna's smile was another reason Corrin had fallen for her. No matter what she did: whether it be waking up from a nap, talking about archery, or even falling on her face; she would have a smile on her face. It was like nothing got her down. He kind of envied that.

"Corrin, you're doing that scrunchy thing with your face again…" Setsuna pointed to her boyfriend's furrowed brow.

Reason number three. She was also quite perceptive when she wanted to be.

"Sorry." Corrin apologized with a rueful grin.

"You've been looking at those papers since lunch started…what are they?"

"The most recent test scores."

"…Did you fail"

"No I didn't fail!"

"Oh~…"

"Actually **you** got a better score than I did…again."

Setsuna's normally half-lidded eyes widened in disbelief. "Really?"

Corrin nodded.

"Wow…you should study more, Corrin."

"This coming from the girl who sleeps through all of her classes."

Setsuna blushed. "Thanks."

"That's not a compliment." Corrin sighed. "How do you get such high scores all the time anyway? You don't seem to have any interest in schoolwork."

Setsuna thought for a minute. "I don't know…I guess I don't want to be left behind."

Those last two words interested Corrin. "Left behind?"

"You're really smart, Corrin. It kind of motivates me to try and do better so I don't hold you back…I think."

Corrin sighed deeply.

"Oh no. Did I say something wrong?"

Corrin shook his head. "No. No. It's just…you don't 'hold me back'. Sure I wish you would try and be a **bit** more attentive at certain things, but at the same time I don't want to force you to be something you're not. Just do things at your own pace, Setsuna."

She nodded in understanding, but her face still looked conflicted.. "…but I still want to work a little harder." she blushed and started to fidget. "…sometimes."

Corrin smiled. "If you're really serious about it, then I'll help you. We can work harder together."

"Really?! You're the best, Corrin!" Setsuna stood up and started to walk over to hug her boyfriend, but tripped over her lunch bag. She fell on top of him with a thud. "Oh no! Are you ok?"

"Yeah." he groaned. "Perhaps we should start on your coordination."

"Probably…"

She smiled. Then kissed him on the cheek.

Reason number four.

* * *

 **My first ever Fire Emblem fic! I've been wanting to do one for years, but I could never think of a good scenario. Truth be told this fic is one I submitted to a tumblr blog called FE14 Drabbles (Check them out if your interested. They haven't updated in a roughly a year, but there are more than enough fics to keep you occupied and they are all written by different people). I just edited it a bit to place on here.**

 **Setsuna was easily my favorite girl from the Fates trilogy (with Oboro being a very close second) so its kind of fitting that my first fic in the series was about her. I hope to do more fics with this series, even its only one-shot like this.**

 **As always leave a comment/review letting me know what you think.**

 **Thanks for reading! :)**


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